How an Angry Birds video sparked a sectarian row in Lebanon

A satirical video aired by privately-owned Lebanese broadcaster LBCI over the weekend depicted Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem and fighters as characters styled on the Angry Birds game, placing them in a simplified battlefield setting linked to the ongoing war.

Israeli soldiers were shown as pigs, echoing the game's visual coding.

While intended as satire, the segment aired by LBCI, founded in the 1980s by the staunchly anti-Hezbollah Christian Lebanese Forces party and currently chaired by Maronite Christian businessman Pierre El Daher, was widely interpreted by the Shia group's supporters as a deliberate provocation.

Many pointed to the portrayal of Qassem in religious attire, including his turban, arguing it crossed into sectarian insult and trivialised the group’s role in the conflict.

Hezbollah condemned the video as "deliberate incitement", warning it risked dragging the country into sectarian strife, even as it called on supporters to exercise restraint.

The backlash quickly spilled onto social media, where some Hezbollah supporters circulated images deemed insulting to Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, Lebanon's most senior Christian religious figure.

The campaign prompted widespread condemnation across political and religious lines and raised fears of escalating tensions. Religious and political leaders across sects expressed solidarity with Rai. Grand Mufti Abdel Latif Derian warned that such insults undermine national dignity, while Druze leader Sami Abi al-Muna said they threaten coexistence.

President Joseph Aoun condemned attacks on religious figures and warned against sliding into sectarian strife, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called for restraint and urged an end to inflammatory rhetoric.

Lebanese authorities moved to contain the fallout after Public Prosecutor Ahmad Rami al-Haj ordered the video's removal and opened an investigation into LBCI.

The controversy deepened on Monday after US Ambassador Michel Issa, following a meeting with Rai, criticised the attack on the Christian figure and said those behind it should consider leaving the country, calling the incident "inappropriate in Lebanon... a country known for coexistence".

His remarks drew a sharp response from Hezbollah, which accused the envoy of interfering in Lebanese affairs.

Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar called for Issa to be declared "persona non grata", saying his comments amounted to a call to expel Lebanese citizens from their own country.

The dispute comes amid a highly charged domestic climate shaped by ongoing Israeli attacks, which have killed more than 2,650 people and displaced over one million since early March, further deepening divisions over Hezbollah's role in the conflict.